In Some Countries, This Would Be Considered Libel

As usual, the latest edition of New York arrived with something custom designed to piss me off. This time, it was the blatant lie stapled to the cover. Oh, really? My subscription is ending soon? I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that one. (Actually about three times per year.) I look forward to that day, NYMag, I really do.

I just don’t believe it will ever come.

If you’re just catching up, this irritating lifestyle magazine for rich people has been coming for free and unbidden to my home for a couple of years now. I have friends with the same set-up, so it’s apparently a marketing technique. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it actually makes a lot of sense: Subscriptions don’t keep magazines afloat, ad revenue does. And the more people who receive the magazine (even without paying), the more the periodical can charge for advertising. However, it would obviously be ideal if people did pay for their subscriptions. Thus, several times a year, they play the odds and warn me that my subscription is about to end. But it never does.